William McKinlcy 



Virginia's Official Tribute to 

liis Memory 




A WILLIAM MCKINLEY A 



a (J > 

ACTION 



OF THE 



Constitutional Convention 

OF VIRGINIA 

FOLLOWING THE 

WOUNDING AND DEATH 

OF 

PRESIDENT McKINLEY 

SEPTEMBER, 1901 



RICHMOND AND LYNCHBURfi : 

J. P. Beli, Company, Printers and Binders. 
1901. 




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iflMMi/i, 



THE TRAGEDY ANNOUNCED. 



On the assembling of the Virginia Constitutional 
Convention, Saturday, September 7, 1901, at 11 
o'clock A. M., Rev. R. L. Mason, of Richmond, 
offered the following . pra^i:,_. which contains the 
first official allusion t6 th^;assassinatiou of President 
McKinley : > 

Our Father who art ih Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. 
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in 
Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us 
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. 
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, 
for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever 
and forever. 

Almighty and most merciful God, by whose power all 
things are created, and by whose providence all things are 
sustained, we stand here to invoke Thy blessing and Thy 
help upon us this morning. AVe ask, Almiglity God, that 
Thy spirit may be poured down upon us, that Thy counsels 
may direct this nation, that our rulers and governors every- 
where may reverence Thy holy name and seek to follow Thy 
divine counsel. 

AVe pray that our people may be a righteous people, lov- 
ing God and Avorking righteousness, and doing Thy Avill in 
their hearts. 

And we ask especially, Almighty God, that Thy blessing 



4 THK TltA(iKI>V A.N.N. M .N( KP. 

ni;iy he jiivsc-nt here* witli tlii.s a-ssuiiiMy, tliat faeli ami everv 
lueniber of this Convention may be inspired hy the spirit of 
the living (iod to see the thiuL's that are true, and right, and 
just, and pure; that tluy may he hrave and strong to d.- 
Thy will for the good of these, Tiiy people, for the glory of 
Thy name, and for the welfare of our nati«»n and State for- 
ever. 

<iraiit. -Miuiirhty (Jod, especially. Thy blessing ui»on the 
C'iiief Magistrate of this e<tuntry. Almighty Father, in 
Thine infinite merey streteh forth Thy hand and heal him. 
and raise him uj) from his siekness with a heart tilled with 
gratitude to Thee, and njore than ever eonsecrated to Thy 
service and to the good of this people. 

(rrant, Almighty God, that counsels of justice, of peace, 
and of righteousness may prevail throughout our whole 
land, and that we may l)e a people indeed, serving the living 
God, doing good in the world, and setting an example of 
righteousness and justice and truth to the world in whicli we 
live. 

All of whicli Ave ask, in the name of our Lord and Savior, 
Jesus Christ. Amen. 

RESOLUTIONS OF SYMPATHY. 

At the conclusion of the prayer, ex-Governor 
Cameron rose at his seat and said : 

Mr. President : Though nature this morning wears lier 
brightest smile, the shadow of an atrocious crime and of an 
all-pervading sorrow hangs like a }»all over the heart and 
mind of every jtatriotic and law-loving citizen of this great 
Kepublic. 

I ask, without fear that assent will l»e withheld by any 
niember of this body, permission to waA a xri.s of f,.„,lii- 



THE TRAGEDY ANNOUNCED. O 

tions, and I request their immediate consideration and 
adoption by the Convention : 

"Whereas, The hand of an assassin has placed in peril 
the life of the President of the United States, and the whole 
country stands appalled at the foulness and cruelty of the 
crime, therefore be it 

Eesolved, First, That the delegates of the people of Vir- 
ginia, in Convention assembled, view with horror and exe- 
cration the dastard blow which has been struck at the entire 
nation in the person of its Chief Magistrate, and extend to 
all their fellow-citizens of the United States, and especially 
to those united by ties of blood and family relationship to 
the President, the most sincere expression of profound sor- 
row at the great calamity which has befallen the country. 

Second, That as a mark of affectionate sympathy and 
share in the grief which is felt by the w^hole American peo- 
ple, this body shall suspend its session for the day, and that 
the Presiding Officer of the Convention is requested to con- 
vey to the Private Secretary of the Executive of the United 
States, with a copy of these resolutions, the hopes and 
prayers of the people of Virginia for the speedy restoration 
of President McKinley to health and strength. (Applause.) 

When the resolutions had been read, United States 
Senator Daniel arose and said : 

This Convention assembles to-day, Mr. President, in the 
gloom of a great national catastrophe. The stroke which 
has befallen this country penetrates to the remotest parts of 
the globe, and it fills the hearts of all our people, in public 
place and at domestic fireside as well, with the deepest feel- 
ings of horror and grief — with horror that a stupendous and 
scarce speakable crime has stained the annals of our society; 



6 THE TRAGEDY ANNOUNCED. 

with grief that its noble victim is the President of our 
country. 

Difference of opinion amongst men is natural. As no 
two grains of sand are exactly alike, as no two leaves of 
anv tree are exactly alike, so no two minds are constructed 
alike. Xo two men can contemplate any object from the 
same standpoint. From this natural difference in all created 
things grow strife, controversy, war, and perturbation. 

In forty years of the perturbations of this country, which 
at times have been bitter beyond expression, William Mc- 
Kinley has been identified with all of its movements, and 
from early manhood has taken a leading part. It is a won- 
derful feature of his career that though so closely identified 
with partisan relations, he so conducted himself with equa- 
nimity, with forbearance, with moderation and temperance, 
that he was regarded by all the people as the exemplar of a 
good man and a good citizen, and that he attracted the per- 
sonal animosity of none. 

It has been my fortune, Mr, President, to be often in liis 
presence and to conduct conversations with him about our 
national affairs, for a number of years during his service in 
Washington, both as a Eepresentative of his people and 
later as the Chief Magistrate of this nation. 

In recent years he has been thrown as the Commander-in- 
Chief of armies and navies and as the civil magistrate in 
conflicts with other peoples and in political strife which 
often, penetrated to the hearts of men and left bitter senti- 
ments and feelings. I have often heard him make this 
remark, that the highest ambition that filled his heart was 
to bring all the i)eople of thi« country, of whatever section, 
into communion and fraternity with each other, and to make 
each one of them feel that he was in verity the citizen of a 
common country. 

In large measure he had worthily accomplished his worthy 



THE TRAGEDY ANNOUNCED. i 

task. He had seen under his own hand men who had fought 
together in bitter battle, in mutual well-beseeming ranks 
march all one way, and he had seen under his own guidance 
and under his own kind and forbearing speech the strife of 
conflicts soon subside into the serenity of peaceful relation. 
Noble ambition, most nobly accomplished by a worthy and 
patriotic leader ! 

To-day, Mr. President, all the people of this country are 
united, and all are united in grief and tears over the couch 
where our noble Chief Magistrate lies stricken. It is not a 
time for speech. Nay, sir, it is not the time even for that 
praise which would naturally spring to our hearts. In the 
awful contemplation of an atrocious crime our lips are hushed, 
and we can only whisper our sympathy to the hearts which 
are nearest and dearest to him, and send our greetings of 
deep sorrow to all of our stricken countrymen. (Applause. ) 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to, after 
which the President said : 

In accordance with the resolutions just adopted, and as a 
mark of profound respect for the President and heartfelt 
sympathy for him in this sad hour of his suffering and trial, 
the Convention Avill stand adjourned until 12 o'clock on 
ISIondav. 



THE PRESIDENT'S DEATH 
ANNOUNCED. 



Saturday, September 14, 1901. 

The CoDvention met at 12 o'clock m. 

Rev. C. C. Cox, of Richmond, offered the follow- 
ing prayer : 

Almighty God, in whom we live and move and have our 
being, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God 
of the Apostles and Prophets, the God and Father of our 
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we acknowledge Thy sov- 
ereignty. We would crown Thee King of kings and Lord 
of lords. There is no power but of Thee. The powers that 
be are ordained of Thee, and whosoever resisteth the power 
resisteth the ordinance of God. 

We pray that Thou wilt give us the proper attitude towards 
all those Avho are in authority. May we not have the spirit 
of untoward criticism, but may we rather sympathize Avith 
them in their arduous and delicate tasks. 

We have heard with great sorrow of the death of our be- 
loved President, and we pray that the richest benedictions 
of Heaven may rest upon this great nation. God grant that 
the affairs of state may move on smoothly and evenjy, with- 
out let or hindrance. May this great country of ours not 
see a great panic ; may nothing be done rashly or hastily ; 



10 THE president' f^ DPLVTH ANNOUNCED. 

Ijut we pray Thee that everything may be so governed and 
guided by the Almighty as to work out for His ghtry and for 
the good of this people. 

And may Thy blessing rest upon him who is soon to be 
inducted into the office of President. Grant that the mantle 
of the dead man may fall upon his shoulders. Grant that 
he may be discreet and wise. May he be a political patriot 
and not a political partisan. And so, oh God, having these 
characteristics, may he make us a wise and useful President. 

We thank Thee for the great and good men who have 
lived and wrought and died within the bounds of the State 
in which we live — great in peace and in war ; great in the 
realm of politics ; great in letters. 

We thank Thee for Thy kind providence which has kejjt 
from us so long war and pestilence and blight. May Thy 
continued favor still rest upon this great State, ^lay our 
learns be filled with plenty and our presses burst forth witli 
new wine. 

May Thy especial favor rest to-day upon this great body 
of men here assembled. We appreciate, to some extent, 
their qualities of head and heart, but how much they need 
wisdom from above. Grant it unto them, oh, Lord, as they 
endeavor to frame a Constitution for this people, and grant 
that the law which they shall thus frame may be holy, just 
and good. 

And unto Thee, the God of nations and the ( Jod of states, 
as well as the God of the individual, be all the glory and 
power, now and forever. Amen. 

DEATH OF PRESIDENT McKINLEV. 

Mr. Braxton : Mr. President, I desire to present 
to the Convention the following preamble and reso- 



THE president's DEATH ANNOUNCED. 11 

lutions, prepared by the President of this Coiiven- 
tiou, as a suitable expression of the deep feeling and 
profound sympathies of this body : 

Since the adjournment of the Convention on yesterday, a 
most afflictive dispensation has been visited by Divine Provi- 
dence upon the American Eepublic, and to-day all the people 
mourn. Their worst fears liave been realized, and their 
beloved Chief Magistrate is no more. President McKinley 
having been suddenly struck down by the hand of a cruel 
assassin, an avowed enemy of all organized government, and 
having borne his sufferings with heroic fortitude and Chris- 
tian resignation, has entered into eternal rest and gone to 
his reward. In the presence of such an awful calamity, 
silence is more eloquent than words. Speech has lost its 
power, and language is altogether too poor to give expression 
to the deep and swelling emotions of the heart. It becomes 
us, therefore, to be still, to remember that the Lord God 
omnipotent reigneth, and to bow in humble submission to 
His holy will. 

Resolved, That the representatives of Virginia, in conven- 
tion assembled, speaking in the name and by the authority 
of all her people, without distinction of party or creed, ten- 
der most respectfully to Mrs. McKinley their sincere and 
heartfelt sympathy in this sad hour of her sore bereavement, 
and send assurances to their countrymen everywhere, at home 
and beyond the seas, that they participate in the universal 
sorrow and feel most deeply the crushing weight of the blow 
that has fallen upon our common country. 

Rewlved, That a copy of these proceedings, signed by the 
President and attested by the Secretary of the Convention, 
be forwarded to Mrs. McKinley, and to the Secretary of State 
of the United States. 



12 THE president's DEATH ANNOUNCED. 

Resolved, That, as a further mark of respect to the memory 
of the ilhistrious dead, the Convention do now adjourn. 

The President : The question is on agreeing to 
the resolutions. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to ; and 
accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 20 minutes p. m. ) the 
Convention adjourned until Monday, September 16, 
1901, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



TO REPRESENT VIRGINIA AT 
THE FUNERAL. 

Monday, September 16, 1901. 

The Convention met at 12 o'clock m., and almost 
immediately Senator Daniel said: 

Mr. President, I beg leave to offer the following resolu- 
tions, which I will read : 

Mesolved, That the President of the Convention is requested 
to appoint a committee of five members of this body to 
attend to-morrow^, in the city of Washington, the services in 
honor of the late William McKinley, President of the 
United States. 

Hesolved, That a committee of five be also appointed by 
the President of the Convention to make necessary arrange- 
ments for appropriate services to be held in this hall on 
Thursday, the 19th instant, the day of the late President's 
funeral. 

The President: The question is on agreeing to 
the resolutions offered by the gentleman from Camp- 
bell. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 

Mr. Daniel: I move that the President of the 
Convention be chosen as the chairman of the com- 
mittee to attend the exercises in Washington. 



14 TO REPRESENT VIRGINIA AT THE FUNERAL. 

The President 2:)ro iem. (Mr. W. A. Anderson): 
The question is on agreeing to the motion of the gen- 
tleman from Campbell. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to. 

The President joro tern.: The Chair announces 
the following as the committee authorized to be 
appointed under the resolution adopted to-day in 
reference to the obsequies of President McKinley and 
the memorial meeting to be held in this hall : 

Committee to visit Washington and attend the 
exercises there: Messrs. Goode (President), Daniel, 
Wise, Thomas L. Moore, and Blair. 

Committee on Memorial Exercises: Messrs. K. 
Walton Moore, William A. Anderson, Green, Brooke 
and Gillespie. 



MEMORIAL SERVICES. 



Tuesday, September 17, 1901. 

The Convention met at 12 o'clock M., Hon. W. 
A. Anderson, President i^ro tern., in the chair, who 
immediately said to the Convention: 

The chairman of the select committee upon memorial 
services in honor of the late President McKinley presents a 
report, which the Chair lays before the Convention. The 
Secretary will read it. 

The Secretary read as follows: 

To the Constitutional Convention : 

The committee appointed to arrange services in memory 
of the late President McKinley, to be held by the Conven- 
tion in its hall Thursday, the 19th instant, beg leave to 
recommend the following program : 

The Convention will meet at 11 o'clock a. m. and intro- 
ductory remarks will be made by the President. 

Religious exercises will then be conducted by the Rev. 
^y. V. Tudor, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 

At the conclusion of these exercises there will be addresses 
by officials representing the various departments of the State 
government, followed by addresses by members of the Con- 
vention. 

It is suggested that members of the Convention intending 



16 MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

to speak signify their purpose to tlie President before the 

session opens, in order that any confusion may be avoided. 

The services will be closed with a benediction by the Rev. 

Dr. W. F. Dunaway. 

Respectfully, 

R. Walton Moore, 
William A. Axdersox, 
Berryman Green, 
D. Tucker Brooke, 
A. P. Gillespie. 

Mr. Brooke: I offer the resolution which I send 
to the desk, and ask for its adoption. 

The resolution was read as follows: 

Resolved, First, That the report of the committee be 
adopted. 

Second, That when the Convention adjourns on Wednes- 
day, the 18th instant, it shall adjourn to meet on Thursday 
morning, the 19th instant, at 11 o'clock, for the memorial 
services as recommended by the committee, and that no 
other business be transacted on that day. 

The President pro tern.: The question is the 
adoption of the resolution offered by the delegate 
from Norfolk city (Mr. Brooke). 

The resolution was agreed to. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND 
SERVICES. 



Thursday, September 19, 1901. 

The Convention met at 11 o'clock a. m. 

Hon . J. Hoge Tyler, Hon. Richard H. Card well, 
Hon. Henry T. Wickham, and Rev. W. V. Tudor, 
D. D., were seated on the platform, near the Presi- 
dent's chair, and the other invited guests of the 
Convention were provided with seats upon the floor. 

ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT GOODE. 

The President (Hon. John Goode) called the 
Convention to order and said: 

Gentlemen of the Convention : 

In accordance with a resolution adopting the report of 
the committee appointed to arrange suitable services in 
memory of the late President McKinley, the regular busi- 
ness of to-day' s session is suspended, and we pause in our 
labors here to perform a melancholy duty and to render our 
mournful tribute to the illustrious dead. 

AVhen the distressing intelligence was flashed along the 
magnetic wire on the afternoon of Friday, the sixth day of 
this month, that the President of the United States, while 
holding a public reception in the city of Buffalo, had been 



18 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES, 

suddenly struck down by the cruel blow of a cowardly assas- 
sin, a thrill of horror was everywhere felt, not only in our 
own land, but throughout the civilized world. 

For eight weary days and nights the hearts of all the 
American people were anxiously turned toward the distin- 
guished sufferer who was making a heroic struggle for life. 
They were moved by contending emotions of hope and of 
fear. They fervently prayed in public and in private that 
a merciful Providence would spare the valuable life of their 
beloved Chief Magistrate, and restore him to health and 
strength, so that he might continue to occupy the exalted 
station which had been dignified and adorned by his com- 
manding abilities and his manly virtues. 

But, alas, their worst fears have been realized. William 
McKinley is numbered among the dead. The places that 
knew him once will know him no more forever. To-day the 
voice of lamentation is heard from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
and from far-off lands beyond the seas. His countrymen are 
now standing with heads uncovered and eyes bedimmed with 
tears, around his open grave in the city he loved so well. 

It is not for me to dwell upon his many admirable quali- 
ties of head and of heart. As Eepresentative in Congress 
and President he Avas able and patriotic ; as a friend he Avas 
faithful and kind ; as a Christian he was consistent and con- 
scientious ; as a son he was affectionate and devoted ; as a 
husband he was tender and true. In all the relations of life, 
public and private, he acted well his part. He has left no 
stain upon his escutcheon; he wore the white flower of a 
blameless life. 

His most distinguishing characteristic as a party leader 
was his extraordinary tact, a quality regarded by many as 
more desirable than genius or talent. Amid all the tempta- 
tions and vicissitudes of a busy public life he never turned 
his back upon the religion he professed, and Avas never 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 19 

ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. No man ever embraced 
more eagerly an opportunity to serve a friend. When his 
aged mother, who had done so much in the days of his 
childhood to mould his character and influence his life, was 
suffering upon a bed of sickness, he left the presidential 
chair and hurried as rapidly as possible for Canton, tenderly 
watched at her bedside for eight days and nights, and finally 
closed her eyes in death. 

No matter how pressing and important his public duties 
might be, he never forgot or neglected his duty to his inva- 
lid wife, to whom he was bound by cords stronger than hooks 
of steel and to whom his first thoughts instinctively turned 
in the moment of his imminent peril when the fatal shot 
was fired. 

But he is no more. No more shall we look upon his 
kindly, benignant face ; no more shall we feel the warm, 
cordial grasp of his hand ; no more shall we listen to the 
sympatlietic tones of his attractive voice. 

' ' The mighty flood that rolls 
Its torrents to the main 
Can ne'er recall its waters lost 
From that abyss again ; 

"So days and years and time 
Descending down to night 
Can thenceforth never more return 
Back to the sphere of light ; 

' ' And man when in the grave 
Can never quit its gloom 
Until the eternal morn shall wake 
The silence of the tomb." 

But we sorrow not as those without hope. On the con- 
trary, we may indulge the most comforting assurance that 
his immortal spirit is now happy in the realms of the blest. 



20 MEMORIAL ADDRESSIvS AXD SERVICES. 

We are told tliat in tlie supreme moment of dissolution 
he was lieard ajently whispering the beautiful lines of that 
familiar hymn — 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
Nearer to Thee." f 

As he entered the valley of the shadow of death, in bid- 
ding farewell to grief-stricken relatives and friends, who 
surrounded his bedside, his last spoken words were : " It is 
God's way. Let His will, not ours, be done." What a 
striking illustration of beautiful Christian resignation and 
of sublime faith in a blissful immortality beyond the grave. 

As we move forward in the discharge of the manifold 
duties incumbent upon us, let us not forget the instructive 
lessons to be drawn from the afflictive dispensation that has 
been visited upon our common country. 

What are those lessons ? In the first place there seems to 
be a consensus of opinion that all the powers of government, 
both state and national, should be brought into requisition 
for the purpose of suppressing the hell-born spirit of anarchy, 
that seeks to accomplish the overthrow of all organized gov- 
ernment. There is no room for the anarchist in this land of 
liberty regulated by law. 

Another lesson inculcated is that it is the touch of nature 
that makes all the world kin. We have not only received 
the most tender messages of sympathy from the representa- 
tives of all the civilized governments upon earth, but in our 
own land the asperities engendered by party strife and sec- 
tional differences are apparently obliterated, and all the 
American people seem to be animated by the same aspira- 
tions for the welfare of our common country and the same 
determination to uphold and defend the su})reniacy of law 
and of order. 

Finally, let it not be forgotten tbat the universal esteem 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 21 

ill which the martyred President was held by his admiring 
countrymen, as shown by the extraordinary demonstration 
at the national capital and the spontaneous outburst of feel- 
ing from one end of the land to the other, was due to his 
high personal character and his irreproachable private life. 
Let our young men especially lay the lesson to heart that if 
they would aspire to leadership in their day and generation 
and are moved by an honorable ambition to occupy high 
political station, the surest passport to popular favor in a 
government like ours and under institutions such as we enjoy 
is character. 

The public safety and the national honor depend upon 
the force of individual character. What a happy day it wdll 
be in this country when none but men of character can com- 
mand the public confidence and the public support, Avhen 
every position of honor and of trust shall be filled by a repre- 
sentative man of incorruptible integrity, a man wdio would 
feel a stain like a wound and avoid corruption in office as he 
Avould shun the contact of death itself. 

If such a blessing shall be vouchsafed to us we may confi- 
dently indulge the hope that at the close of the century on 
Avhich we have entered the American people may come 
together from the North and the South, from the East and 
from the West, to mingle their congratulations, to raise their 
songs of triumph, and to praise God from whom all blessings 
flow that the priceless heritage bequeathed by our fathers 
has been preserved to them, and that the American Eepublic 
still lives. 

The Chair now presents the Kev. W. V. Tudor, D. D., 
who has kindly consented to conduct the religious exercises 
on this occasion. 



22 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

PRAYER. 

Rev. W. Y. Tudor, D. D., of Richmond, deliv- 
ered the following prayer: 

Let us pray. Oh God, in Thy liand our breath is, and 
Thine are all our ways. In liarmony with the last utterance 
of Thy servant who has been removed from his earthly labors, 
and of whom we affectionately think at this time, we 
acknowledge Thy rightful, righteous and eternal sover- 
eignty. AVe cannot fail to adore Thy wisdom and goodness, 
oh God, when we observe that wherever Thy will obtains, 
as in the movements of the planetary bodies and the whole 
order of nature, there is only good ; and the cry of the watch 
upon the decks of the universe is ever ''All is well ; " and 
the same it is when in the mystery of Thy Providence there 
is apparent destruction, and all is apparently for the worst, 
as the death of the seed in the ground, since presently there 
is the shoot, the stem, the blade, and the full corn in the 
ear. So also in the moral mysteries such as the death of 
our late Chief :Magistrate, while overwhelmed with sorrow 
we must still say, "All is well under Thy sovereign care." 

We thank thee, oh God, our Father, for the grace which 
enabled the great man's soul to report with his last breath, 
"It is God's way; His will be done, not ours." We thank 
Thee that Thou didst give to a sinful nation for its ruler a 
man Avho could be admired and honored and loved for his 
cleanness of character, his purity of motive, and the generous 
warmth of his affections. We thank Thee that in his 
unmurmuring sul)mission to his end we may see illustrated 
the truth of Thy word to the believer, "death is swallowed 
up in victory." 

We thank Thee for the fortitude with which Thou hast 
reinforced the soul of the sensible woman, bereaved of one of 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 



23 



the best of husbands, and we humbly invoke for the nation's 
widow Thy continued succor and consolations. 

And now, in this the hour of our sorrow, we pray for 
Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, that 
his life may be precious in Thy sight, and that Thou wilt 
guard and defend him more effectually than detectives and 
secret service men can do. So have in Thy holy keeping, 
we beseech Thee, Thy servant, the Governor of our Com- 
monwealth, Virginia. 

Oh God, we pray with all prayer and supplication, stay 
Thou the hand of blood ; stay Thou the arrows of anarchism 
that are aimed at governors and rulers as targets all the 
world over. And as the blessed Saviour upon the cross 
didst pray for Thine enemies, saying "Forgive them. Father, 
for they know not what they do," we are sure that Thou 
wilt commend our prayer for the poor deluded wretch whose 
fatal shot has torn our chief away from us, that while he 
shall doubtless find no place for repentance to escape the 
extreme penalty of human law, Ave commend him to and 
invoke upon him from Thee Thy most gracious pity. 

Oh God, bless our country, and especially at this hour of 
■ grief and horror may the people universally be impressed to 
good purposes with the brevity and uncertainty of life, and 
as Thou hast taught us in Thy Word, we pray put us in fear, 
oh Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. 
'' Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us 
again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away." 

May these precious words of Thine own inspiration cheer 
as well the hearts and homes of many sufferijig and sorrow- 
ing ones, who participate also in the added sorrow of this 
solemn and affecting occasion. For Jesus' sake. 



24 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SER^aCES. 

The Lord's Prayer was chanted by a quartette 
choir composed of Mrs. Jacob Reiohardt, Miss Effie 
Cofer, Mr. F. W. Cunningham and Mr. H. T. Car- 
doza; organist, Prof. Jacob Reiuhardt. 

Rev. Dr. Tudor: Amen. 

The quartette then sang the hymn, ''Lead, Kindly 
Light." 

Rev. Dr. Tudor read a Scripture lesson, selected 
from the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, 
fifteenth chapter, and beginning with the fifty-first 
verse. 

Mr. F. W. Cunningham then sang the hymn, 
"Sometime AVe'll Understand." 



ADDRESS OF REV. DR. TUDOR. 

Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Convention, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
A nation mourns. There is a pall over the land from 
lake to gulf, from sea to sea ; the flags droop at half mast ; 
the deep-throated gun bellows its complaint; the bell tongue 
is so heavy with grief as that but slowly and at intervals 
can it toll forth its tale of woe ; public and private buildings, 
marts and homes, are draped in mourning ; sweet garlands 
of salutation fall sadly and lie crushed and bleeding under 
tlie wheels that convey only the mortal remains of him they 
would decorate and crown ; the pages of the press are as 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. ZO 

though written witli pens dipped in tears ; and the country 
trembles for fear and horror of a secret foe. 

As to the character of the man whose memory we honor 
to-day, the hite President of the United States, permit me to 
relate a minor incident of his administration of which I was 
cognizant. A prominent man in his own city, and whose 
pastor I had been, became involved with the port of customs 
regulations of the land. There was a streak of innocent 
verdancy in his trustful nature that sufficed in great part to 
explain the transaction in the minds of those who knew him 
best, and his character was not the least impaired in their 
estimation. But there was trouble. Something must be 
done. There Avas only one man who could come to the 
rescue. Who has influence with the President? Send a 
Bishop, send an influential Methodist layman. McKinley 
is a Methodist. But the feeling was, and the significant 
admission was also and very clearly delivered, it shall be of 
no use to appeal to Mr. McKinley in the case unless you can 
show him that his desired interposition is right, and not in 
contravention of the law. The release was accomplished, 
and we may be sure it was right. Encomium is needless. 

Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention, ladies 
and gentlemen, this is indeed the age of progress, and like 
all of the greatest of the world's eras it is as well the age of 
martyrdom. There have been martyrs recently in China ; 
not a few. The twentieth century is not yet a year old, and 
in this first of its years we are astounded by the slaughter of 
the Innocent just as the infant year of our Christian era was 
signalized by the slaughter of the Innocents, and by a hand 
then as now, and now as then, raised against righteousness 
and God. 

McKinley stood for everything opposed to anarchy, to 
nihilism, to unbelief, and to irreverence for God. Perhaps 
the martyr was necessary. Perhaps the blood of the martyr 



26 mj:morial ai)Dre.<sp:.s axd services. 

may nourish tlic seed-thought of conviction in the minds, far 
too many, of our American })opuhition, that are utterly god- 
less and skeptical, Sabbath-breaking and Bible-hating, that 
not only are there powers that be, to which they agree, but 
also, as His word teaches, that the powers that be are or- 
dained of God ; that in our form of government the people 
are as well subject as sovereign ; subject to the Highest, the 
Most High ; and that the grand defense at last against the 
most threatening speculative peril to our civilization, 
namely, atheistic anarchism, is not to be found so much in 
the laws which the councils may be stimulated to enact for 
repression of the evil, but in the prayer fulfilled, "Nearer, 
My God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee — the sovereign. 

"Sometime We'll Understand." We may not now be 
able to comprehend the purpose ultimately to be accom- 
plished by the martyrdom of William McKinley, the noble 
and universally beloved President of the United States. 
But neither did the people understand why a man who 
confessed himself to be in bodily presence Aveak and con- 
temptible, a lowly fellow, gloried in his record "of the Jews 
five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice Avas I 
beaten with rods, once Avas I stoned. ... In perils by 
mine oAvn countrymen." But the ages since have understood 
more signally than ever why Paul was the martyr. So shall Ave. 

The great man has gone, and my last reflection shall be 
that in the last sentence Avhich dropped from his lips, taken 
down carefully by the attending surgeon at his side and noAV 
familiar to all, grandly quoted by the President of the Con- 
vention in his most impressive and affecting address, Ave see 
and recognize plainly the truth of the Avords, "Death is 
SAvalloAved up in victory," a victory more brilliant than 
when a proud nation, during his administration, surrendered 
to the armies and navies of which the President was tlie 
Commaiidcr-in-Chiof. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 27 

It is exceedingly meet that this Convention of the assem- 
bled wisdom of our Commonwealth should suspend its labors 
and interpose upon its record this " In memoriam" occasion. 
The hearts of seventy million people to-day beat as one 
heart. Virginia and Richmond have before now welcomed 
the distinguished guest, have been alert to do him honor 
and to give him a reception worthy of his dignity and char- 
acter ; have entertained him as long as he would stay. It 
is the part of hospitality as well to speed the parting guest. 
Therefore, drying our tears, for we have work to do during 
the little while that we remain longer here on earth, we 
may say, Go to thy rest, statesman, patriot, friend. Presi- 
dent; we trusting that Thou hast received the guerdon of a true 
humanity inscribed as concerning created man in the Psalm 
to God, "Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor." 

Now, will the entire congregation unite in singing, by 
request of the choir, and with the common consent of all, 
the hymn beginning ''Nearer, my God, to Thee," found on 
the leaflet distributed through the assembly ? 

The hymn ''Nearer, my God, to Thee" was sung, 
all present standing. 



GOVERNOR TYLER'S ADDRESS. 

The President: The Chair now presents Hon. J. 
Hoge Tyler, Governor of the Commonwealth, who 
will speak in behalf of the executive department. 

3L\ President, Gentlemen of the Convention, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

President McKinley often spoke of Virginia as the mother 

of his State, and as the bosom of the daughter is open to 



28 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES, 

receive his body to-day, we would have the -svorkl to know- 
that Virginians are gathered here in this liistoric hall to 
give expression to their sorrow and to do honor to his name. 

It is proper that this Convention of representative Vir- 
ginians, called to frame an organic law for the Mother of 
States, should pause in its labors, and inviting the assistance 
of the heads of the State government, engage in solemn 
memorial service while the body of our martyred President 
is being consigned to the grave. 

I desire to make acknowledgment of the i)rivilege accorded 
me as the executive of the State to pay humble tribute to his 
memory. I will make no attempt to pass eulogy on his life 
or character. Others better fitted will recount his virtues as 
a man, as a statesman and as an American. Nor will I speak 
of the personal sadness stirred within my breast. He was 
my friend and the friend of my people. His courtesy and 
kindness and desire to help Virginia will not be forgotten. 
He was a man without bitterness, whose life was crowned by 
his effort to abolish sectional lines and Avhose death cements 
the completion of his cherished work. By his wise and 
statesmanlike policy our people are brought closer together, 
and the flag of our common country is made dearer to the 
hearts of all. 

Karely has a country been called to mourn the loss of a 
chieftain so well beloved. 

''His life was gentle, and the elements 
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up 
And say to all the world, ' This was a man.' " 

A gallant soldier, he was magnanimous to those less 
favored by fortune. A man, noble, courteous and brave. A 
husband, gentle, tender and true. A Christian, childlike 
and devout, and even in the gathering shadows of death his 
faith Avas steadfast and knew no wavering. Cut off at the 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AXD SERVICES. 29 

zenith of his glory; shot down while the approving plaudits 
of multitudes were ringing in his ears, he had no words save 
those of acquiescence in the divine decree, and hushed the 
moans of anguish in the prayer of "Xot my will, but Thine, 
be done." The scenes around his death-bed are ineffaceable. 
Turning a longing look at the trees waving around his win- 
dow, as if sighing for their shade once more, he murmured, 
"Oh, how beautiful ! " and with the glorious light of an 
immortal life resplendent on his broAV, he said to her to 
whom he had given a wealth of love and tenderness, "It is 
God's way. Good-bye, good-bye." Immortal words that 
will resound around the world and echo in every clime, 
inspiring Christian hearts to perfect faith. His life was the 
life of a patriot, his death was the death of a saint. 

While our grief is made more poignant when Ave recall 
those qualities of mind and heart with Avhich William Mc- 
Kinley was endowed, and remember those gentle attributes 
which ever characterized him, there is something more than 
a personal tribute in these widespread manifestations of sor- 
row. In the tears of the people are the seeds of the nation's 
strength. Behold what hath a generation wrought ! The 
sable drapery hangs around the stately columns of this old 
building which once echoed Avith the noise of war, now 
hushed in sadness ; the solemn toll of the bells in this the 
capital city of the Confederacy— bells that once sounded 
battle alarms now pealing forth their notes of sorrow; the 
once angry groAvl of the cannon, noAv the melancholy moan 
of the funeral gun, are alike emblems of sorrow for a fallen 
chieftain and tributes to the enduring strength of the Union. 

William McKinley was the agent chosen by Providence 
to knit up the few strands of strife that remained from that 
great struggle in which he had borne such a noble part. 
How Avell he discharged his duty, and how fully he accom- 
plished his work, is evidenced by the people of every section 



80 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

clasping hands across his bier and mingling their tears 
around his toml), while their voices join in requiems at his 
grave. 

The greatest honor paid to his memory is in the bowed 
heads and grief-stricken hearts of the old Confederates 
assembled here amid the ruins of their hopes, while with 
unfeigned sorrow they mourn the loss of that illustrious man 
who was President of all the people. Yes, his cherished 
ambition was to bring the people of every section into closer 
fellowship and union, and with generous hand he reached 
out to the men of the South and made them feel that in the 
great office of President partisan strife was forgotten. The 
country has lost a beloved President, the South a true and 
loyal friend. 



JUDGE CARDWELL'S ADDRESS. 

The President: The Chair now presents the 
Honorable Richard H. Cardwell, member of the 
Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, who will 
represent the Judiciary Department: 

3L\ President : 

It is melancholy satisfaction to participate in these exer- 
cises giving expression to the sorrow widespread within the 
borders of our Connnonwealth because of the dastardly and 
brutal murder of our honored and beloved President. It 
would, however, have been far more preferable to me to let my 
presence alone bear testimony to my hearty approval of this 
gathering of our people, and of the tribute we pay to the 
memory of the distinguished subject of these services. My 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 31 

only regret in joining in this tribute is that my contribution 
to it must necessarily be so unworthy of the occasion and of 
him to whose memory it is offered. 

I have to content myself, as the representative on this 
occasion of one department of our State Government, with 
expressing in a few sincere, heartfelt words the respect, 
esteem and admiration felt by our people for Mr. McKinley 
while living, and the profound grief caused by his untimely 
death. These feelings, I am sure, are not confined to one 
section or to one party, but are shared by all classes, wher- 
ever honor, integrity, virtue and piety, such as marked the 
character of the illustrious dead, are respected and vene- 
rated. 

The heavy drapery of woe darkens to-day alike the public 
building, the stately mansion and the doorway of the humble 
home ; the proud colors of the Union have drooped at half- 
mast throughout the United States, and in all civilized 
lands beneath the sun ; eloquence in the forum and at the 
sacred desk will pay its richest tributes to his exalted abili- 
ties and to the stainless character of William McKinley, 
while the mighty multitude of mourners, by their bowed 
heads, will bear witness to the deep love and grief with 
which he will be lowered into his last earthly abode. 

Bowing in humble submission to this afflicting dispensa- 
tion, we are all led vividly to reflect that "in the midst of 
life we are in death ;" and to wonder at the inscrutable 
decrees of Deity ; and with implicit faith in their wisdom, 
which we are not permitted now to see, we cherish the hope 
that to the great and good chieftain who has been stricken 
down in the midst of a career of present and prospective 
usefulness, and to those of his countrymen who remain, this 
grievous event may be fraught with unseen blessings. 

It has been said that it is almost impossible to estimate 
the value to mankind of a great and good life. Custom and 



32 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

experience has assigned i)rices to most of the treasures of the 
workl, hut no effort of the mind has been able to measure 
and determine the worth of a great character. While this, 
Mr. President, is an accepted truth, the good results of the 
life of such a man do not pass away with him, for a truly 
great and good man never lives in vain, even if his objects 
and aims in life are not all accomplished, and he be stricken 
down when, from a human standpoint, he is more needed by 
his countrymen than ever before. 

That our martyred President was truly a great man, is 
established by the fact that his administration of the office 
of Chief Magistrate of the greatest government on earth for 
more than four years has proved him worthy to rule over 
his people, and whose confidence, love and esteem he won 
at the start and would have retained to the end of his 
official life had he been spared from the assaults of the 
enemies of civilized government, which should have no 
place within our borders. 

That he was a truly good man, is equally well established. 
From the beginning of his public life to its end success 
attended him. It mattered not in what situation he was 
placed, he met its requirements with ability. Math dignity, 
with courage, and with clean-hearted and clean-handed 
integrity. He ascended the temple of fame step by step to 
its very summit, yet there Avas not one blot, or stain, or 
shadow upon his robes. Nothing but great intellectual 
ability, high moral excellence, invariable devotion to duty 
and unwavering faith in the rectitude of his purposes, could 
have achieved and maintained such results. He bore open 
and public testimony on all proper occasions to his reliance 
upon the teachings of Christianity for the advancement of 
civilization, and for the happiness of mankind. In his 
private life he exemplified the beautiful virtues of his 
religion. The qualities and traits of his character will be 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 33 

an interesting and instrnctive study to tlie yonng statesmen 
of our country. 

The people of our Southland, without regard to political 
party affiliations, appreciate in the highest degree his patriotic 
and effective efforts to obliterate whatever there was left of 
old prejudices between the sections, and without appreci- 
ating unduly less the efforts of others in that direction, will 
hold to the opinion that he did more to bring about kindly 
feeling between all sections and to make permanent our 
peace, than any other one man who has been in public life 
since the peace and harmony of the Union was disrupted 
over forty years ago. 

In the open grave that will receive to-day all that is 
mortal of William McKinley, the tears of the people of all 
sections of our country will mingle, and, with hearts throb- 
bing in sorrow that he is no more the true and loyal citizen 
of all classes and localities, will thank God for his life and 
character, and as long as American history treasures up 
pure lives and faithful public services ; as long as public 
and private virtue, stainless and without blemish, is revered, 
so long will his name be cherished by the American people 
as an example worthy of the highest emulation. 



HON. HENRY T. WICKHAM'S ADDRESS. 

The President: The Chair now introduces Hon. 
Henry T. Wickham, President pro tempore of the 
Senate of Virginia, who will represent the legislative 
department on this occasion. 

Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Convention, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

If, as we fondly hope, it is permitted to the sjjirits of the 

blest to know the result of the good they do Avhile on earth, 



34 3IEM0RIAL ADDRESSES AXD SERVICES. 

I feel sure I may, without offending any canon of good taste 
on such an occasion as this, point out some features in the 
life and death of William McKinley which have rendered 
him more potent for good than any man who has adorned 
public life in America in recent years. 

Could his spirit advise us noAV, I am sure he Avould wish 
us to derive good even from the great sorrow into which our 
entire people is plunged. And the best way to secure this 
benefit, and thus pay that tribute which would be the most 
grateful and pleasing to him, is for us to draAV that lesson 
from his life and death that he would wish, and to profit by 
it. What is that lesson ? 

I have been asked to speak here on behalf of the General 
Assembly of Virginia, but the ansAver to that question 
involves the hope of mankind. The governments of earth 
are but instruments subordinate to the Christian religion 
whereby the hope of mankind may be attained. The Legis- 
lature of Virginia, in the presence of death, resolves itself 
back into its individual membership in the brotherhood of 
mankind ; and each member, feeling the deepest veneration 
for the memory of William McKinley, must answer that 
question as best he can. Speaking, therefore, in that 
capacity, the answer I would give is, * ' Let me live the life 
of the righteous, and may my end be like his." 

It is given to but few to attain the high position achieved 
by William McKinley while in life, but it is within the 
power of the humblest man to say, "See how a Christian can 
die." 

Recall for a moment the final scenes of the great of the 
earth who have preceded the President. Take the long line 
of Presidents, all of whom, save one, have passed through 
the valley of the shadow of death ; call back to memory the 
final parting of the rulers of nations and the chiefs of gov- 
ernments from the scene of their power, their hopes and 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 35 

their fears, and, what is more, and most of all, of their affec- 
tions. History does not record any sublimer words than " It 
is God's way; His will, not ours, be done." 

Many rulers of earth have gone before him ; many have 
awakened feelings of the deepest grief and sentiments of the 
profoundest affection ; many have aroused lasting feelings of 
admiration for their courage and veneration for their char- 
acter ; but of none of these have I ever heard or read where 
these feelings of grief, affection, admiration and veneration 
were more profoundly stirred. And yet, blended with all 
these, the light of faith shines forth as rays from the star of 
hope to guide men to that haven where we do believe his 
spirit rests, 

I shall not attempt any extended review of the life of our 
lamented President, for he was our President. 

The President of a united country, he knew no section ; 
and under his wise and splendid administration the men of 
the South rallied to the ensign of the government with a 
patriotic ardor unsurpassed in any other portion of our great 
country. Why did they do this ? Because they knew and 
trusted him. And they trusted because throughout a life 
passed in the rays cast by the great searchlight of publicity 
he had done no act, either in a private or a public station, 
that misbecame a man ; because no speech — nay, not a single 
Avord — of his was ever uttered save what became a noble 
heart. 

He had no enemy deserving the name of man. His life 
Avas spent in rivalries, but he aroused in the hearts of his 
opponents only the admiration and true joy of the real war- 
rior. In him there was no bitterness and no rancor, "but 
ever in his right hand he carried gentle peace to silence 
envious tongues." 

When the tidings came to his great rival, the great leader 
from the West, who twice competed with him for the Presi- 



36 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AXD SERVICES. 

dency, he gave way to the feelings wliich overpowered him ; 
lie could not restrain his tears,^ and hastened to pay a lofty 
and becoming tribute to the virtues of the man and the char- 
acter of the ruler. 

And to-day all true men of all parties unite in these ser- 
vices throughout the length and breadth of this mighty 
country, which is our inheritance forever, with a spontaneity 
and a depth of feeling which proves that all of us are bowed 
by sentiments of personal sorrow and personal loss. 

I trust it may not be deemed invidious should I say that 
while our entire country is plunged in sorrow, yet here in 
the South that feeling seems most notable. It is because we 
felt him to be our friend, as true to us as he would be to any 
other portion of the land, and that he was laboring to the 
end that all men might be even as he was in that regard. 
May the spirit of McKinley animate all true men, and may 
his example bring to a united country the blessings he so 
earnestly strove to bestow. 

It has sometimes been said by those who doubt the [uir- 
poses and plan of the all-wise Creator, that mankind has 
gone backward, and that the race has deteriorated ; that the 
present age is one of skepticism and degeneration, and that 
the future will develop a world that, having culminated in 
all that is good and great, will by degrees decline until the 
civilization of Christianity reverts to the mysticism of the 
East. These men hold that the spirit of individualism has 
met the powers of collectivism and has been overcome ; that 
the battle of the future is between the extremes of collectiv- 
ism, and that, whichever side may triumph, the power of 
the collective mass will forever dominate and crush the lib- 
erties of the people. 

The example set by the life and death of William Mc- 
Kinley will comfort and sustain those of us who maintain 
that the footsteps of mankind are still upon those palace 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 37 

Stairs which sh:)pe forever upward, through all time to 
come, from earth to those bright halls, Avhere a crown of 
glor}' awaits alike the lowest as the highest of those who can 
say with him, " Thv will, not ours, be done." The race has 
not deteriorated. God does not mean that it shall. 

Who of human beings has been purer in his domestic life 
than our dead President ? Who has been more intellectual ? 
Who has been kinder or more gentle to all men ? Who has 
achieved a higher position among his fellows? Who has 
faced death more calmly? Who better lived up to the teach- 
ing of the Saviour of mankind, striving to follow His example 
even in the hour of the bitterness of death and the prayer, 
"Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." 
Why, in all the mortal anguish that seized him, not one 
word of bitterness has passed his lips, even toward the wretch 
that took his life ? 

His first thought was for his wife — his devoted wife, whose 
tender tribute of affection given so artlessly at New Orleans 
touched the hearts of the people, and gave them a glimpse 
of the happiness, the perfect and unbroken happiness, in 
which their married life was passed. She said that Mr. Mc- 
Kinley would at the end of his term come home to live and 
would belong to her ; that noAV she had to share him with 
his country, but then she could have him to herself. His 
first thought was of her. " Cortelyou, don't let her know," 
were his first words after receiving his death blow. 

The next thought that came was when his assailant was 
seized by the infuriated crowd: "Don't let anyone hurt 
him." Then this patient, unselfish gentleman, that his fond 
wife described him, expressed his sorrow that he had been 
the cause of bringing trouble on the Avonderful Exposition 
that the people of the beautiful city of Buffalo were so deeply 
interested in. 

And when the final farewell was spoken to the dear one, 



38 :memorial addresses and services. 

who from youtli had shared his joy and his sorrow, hohling 
her hand in his, he thought he could best comfort her by his 
own true faith, and he uttered those sublime words which 
will make him immortal, here and hereafter: "It is God's 
way. His will, not ours, be done." 

No, the race has not deteriorated, and as God lives He 
does not mean it to. 

"The evil that men do lives after tlicm. The good is 
oft interred together with their bones." 

But I do believe that the all-wise Providence will permit 
the memory of William McKinley to be crowned on earth 
by the blessing of the people of his own beloved country for 
the example he has set them in his life and in his death. 

In very truth they will say of him : 

"He truly, in a generous, honest thought 
Of common good to all, strove for his country's weal ; 
His life was gentle ; and the elements 
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up 
And say to all the world, ' This was a man ! ' " 

It is very right, meet, and our bounden duty to assemble, 
under the circumstances which surround us, to set forth, so 
that they may be known to all men, the feelings which ani- 
mate us. The hearts of seventy-five million of Christian 
people are drawn very close together now. The President 
wished and labored that the hearts of the people might be 
united. He little thought — no one ever thought — that God 
would select this way to accomplish the desired end. But 
the blood of the President may cement the Union. God 
grant that it may. To this extent I feel that I can voice the 
sentiments of the General Assemblv of Virginia. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 39 



ADDRESS OF REV. RICHARD McILWAINE, D. D., 

DELEGATE FROM PRINCE EDWARD. 

3Ir. President and Gentlemen of the Convention, Ladies and 
Gentlemen : 

I remember distinctly that Avheii I was quite a youth, I 
heard in my native city of Petersburg, on the occasion of 
the death of a distinguished and highly honored citizen of 
the United States, a thrilling discourse by an eloquent min- 
ister of the Gospel, based on the text, ''Cease ye from man, 
whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be 
accounted of." 

A world-renowned preacher, when called to declare the 
will of God to man before the court of France, as he rose in 
the pulpit of Notre Dame and looked around on royalty in 
all its blazonry of splendor, and the nobility of the king- 
dom, its lords and ladies, and pomp and circumstance 
stretched out before him in glory and magnificence, paused 
and seemed lost in contemplation, and then began a dis- 
course which has survived the lapse of time, with the im- 
pressive words, "There is nothing great, but God : there is 
nothing terrible, but judgment." 

As we are gathered here to-day at a time when men are 
usually engaged in secular work ; as this Convention has 
interrupted its ordinary course of proceedings and by resolu- 
tion is assembled for religious worship ; as throughout our 
common country our fellow-citizens have forsaken their 
accustomed avocations and betaken themselves to the house 
of God in recognition of a common sorrow and in obeisance 
to the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, it behooves us 
to bow humbly and reverently before His throne and 
acknowledge Him Lord of All. 



40 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AXD SERVICES. 

Perliaps never in the history of mankind lias there been 
more heart-felt and nniversal grief than during the past 
days preceding and following the death of the honored and 
beloved Chief Magistrate of the Repulilic. All parties, all 
creeds, all peoples throughout Christendom ; the potentates 
of earth in common with those who fill humble positions in 
society ; all, with the exception of a few enemies of man- 
kind, sit together under the shadow of a common grief and 
cry out to God for help. 

To me, this fact has great significance. Xot only does it 
bear Avitness impressively, as nothing else could do, to the 
noble character and exalted worth and illustrious service of 
our lamented dead, but over and above and beyond this, it 
implies that deep down in the constitution of the human 
soul there are noble and generous instincts that on occasion 
rise superior to minor differences of opinion, break asunder 
the shackles of sect and party, and assert the existence 
within us, amid all the weakness and sinfulness of our 
nature, of the Divine spark of justice and truth and right 
which has not been wholly extinguished. 

We learn from classic history that the people of Rome 
were wrought up to the point of frenzied enthusiasm when 
an impassioned orator stood before them and cried out in 
their hearing, ^^ Homo sum: humcini nihil a me alienum 
pato'^ ("I am a man and I deem nothing pertaining to man 
foreign to me") ; and so to-day we find ourselves in com- 
mon Avith our fellow-citizens throughout this broad land 
and our fellow-men throughout the world, laying our tribute 
of reverential homage on the bier of our departed chieftain, 
acknowledging his virtues and holding him up as an example 
of all that is good and great in American citizensbij) and 
in human nature. 

Gentlemen of the Convention, this is well, but it is not 
all, and does not express the full significance of this occa- 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 41 

sion. If, assembled here, we content ourselves Avith magni- 
fying the dead, however justly and truthfully, and fail to 
gather lessons of wisdom and grace from his life of consecra- 
tion, and his death of faith and hope, we have missed the 
crowning lesson of the sad event which has brought us 
together, and are engaged in a heathen rather than a 
Christian service. 

There are, gentlemen of the Convention, some trite and 
commonplace instructions to be drawn from the momentous 
crisis through which we are passing, and the circumstances 
which have brought it about, which I should fail in duty did 
I omit to call to your attention, and the neglect of which 
would leave you without the benefit which ought to be 
derived from this solemn service. It is true that these 
lessons are not infrequently impressed in our experience of 
life from other sources, but seldom, perhaps, so forcefully 
and imperiously as at present. We do well, therefore, to 
consider carefully and lay to heart to-day the warnings, 
the admonitions, the instructions which are tided in upon us 
this sad hour. 

Bear with me, Mr. President and gentlemen, as I stand 
here not merely as one of your number, permitted to voice 
your feelings on this great occasion, but also as a minister of 
Christ, whose duty it is to speak the truth in His name, to 
draw from the Providential dispensation which rests upon 
us, and present, as best I can, some simple lessons, in simple 
language, for our common instruction and use. Ah, it will 
be a sad thing if a single one of us passes through these 
scenes untaught and unblessed. Let us, then, one and all, 
give solemn heed to the voice of God as he speaks to us to- 
day and, having heard, let us determine that by His 
gracious help, we will live up to the teachings He gives. 

Perhaps the most obvious and universally accepted lesson 
which has been borne in on our minds by the sad series of 



42 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

events throuoli wliicli we have passed is one that has already 
been aUuded to, the uncertainty of life — a lesson learned, 
indeed, from many other sources, but, alas, how sadly neg- 
lected ! We know that man is born to die ; we know that 
death may meet us anywhere and at any time, and yet how 
prone we are to put the thought away from us and to go 
heedlessly on in reckless indifference to the future. Men 
deem all men mortal but themselves. To-day God speaks to 
us with a voice loud as the thunder of the skies and impress- 
ive as the grave and eternity, and says : " Go to now, ye that 
say, to-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and 
continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain ; 
whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For 
what is your life ? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a 
little time and then vanisheth aAvay. For that ye ought to 
say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." 
Our beloved chieftain, who a few days ago was in the fullness 
of manly vigor, with the prospect of prolonged and honored 
usefulness, now lies in the cold embrace of death, and from 
his voiceless tenement of clay comes the message : "Prepare 
to meet thy God." "Let every day be spent in His fear and 
His service." 

Another lesson Avhich comes to us to-day from the life and 
death of our lamented President is that we ought to cultivate 
and cherish a spirit of broad charity and humanity, of kind- 
ness and forbearance towards our fellow-men, a disposition to 
accord to our fellow-citizens of every degree what rightfully 
belongs to them, while at the same time we strenuously assert 
and maintain our own rights, inherited and justly actjuired. 
If there is an instruction which comes to us from the life and 
death of William McKinley, the honest man, the exalted 
patriot, the illustrious chieftain, it is this. 

It is not contended that at the beginning or during the 
earlier part of his i)olitical career he had reached this high 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 43 

altitude. Exalted character is not the creation of a day, nor 
is it produced by leaps and bounds, but it is of gradual for- 
mation under the inspiration of noble principles and high 
ideals. It presupposes and involves manful struggle, 
thoughtful effort, voluntary self-sacrifice, large-heartedness 
and absolute truthfulness. You cannot have character with- 
out that. Its acquisition is slow and gradual, and after 
conquest upon conquest only is finally complete, and when 
complete its possessor stands before the world the noblest 
work of God, the ideal of humanity — the only perfect 
exemplar of which is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary, 
the Son of God. And perhaps at the time of his death he 
whom we honor to-day had approached as near this point as 
any living man. 

It is told of Alexander the Great that when he was about 
to enter on the conquest of the East, the philosopher, Aris- 
totle, the instructor of his youth, made bold to advise him 
to crush out the alien nations that lay in his path, but to 
treat with leniency the Greek peoples with whom he should 
meet ; to which the conqueror, wiser than his teacher, made 
the noble response, "It is not my mission to crush and to 
destroy, but to unite and reconcile the nations of the earth." 
Such seems to have been the spirit of our departed hero 
in private life and in the administration of the affairs of his 
country, and under this patriotic and Christian policy he did 
much to bring all parts of our hitherto disunited country to 
the indulgence of mutual respect and into bonds of cordial 
fraternity. 

Shall his generous example be lost ? Shall we not cherish 
and honor it, and in our private and public relations endeavor 
to come up to this high ideal? It was the great Justinian 
who gave to the world the following definition of justice : 
^^Justitia est constans et perpetua voluntas cuique suum tribuendi" 
(" Justice is the constant and perpetual good-will to give to 



44 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

every man wliat belongs to him"). Hundreds of years 
before Justinian, an inspired prophet, speaking in the name 
of God, had said, "He that shewed thee, O man, what is 
good : and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do 
justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy 
God?" Thus Ave have this day brought to our ears and 
impressed on our hearts the same important lesson from four 
very diverse sources ; from the life and death of one of the 
noblest of Americans ; from the gracious though ephemeral 
outburst of the conqueror of the world ; from the pen of a 
renowned Roman jurist, and from the everlasting Word of 
the everlasting God. Oh, let not the appeal be without 
effect on your hearts and lives. 

The only other lesson which I shall venture to bring to 
your attention is found in the answer to the inquiry, What 
was the basic principle on which, as a foundation of ada- 
mant, the reverent and upright character of William 
McKinley rested? What is the adequate explanation of his 
inflexible justice, his broad-minded charity, his undeviating 
adherence to Avhat he thought right, his pure-heartedness 
and devout patriotism ? What was it that made him the 
man that he was, that in life won for him the affectionate 
regard and confidence of those who knew him, and that at 
his death sent coursing throughout our great republic and 
all around the world, along with the thrill of horror at the 
dastardly act which laid him low, an unbroken wave of 
deepest distress, which filled all hearts with sadness and all 
eyes with tears? Has such a spectacle ever been beheld 
before in the history of the world? Explain it I Make 
reply to your own souls ! 

To me, the answer is evident. I have not far to go to 
find a satisfying explanation of what he was while living, 
and of what he is to his countrymen and mankind, now that 
he is dead. *'He that dwelleth in the secret place of the 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 45 

Most High shall abide under the shadcw of the Almighty." 
He drew the inspiration of his life from converse with the 
throne of Heaven. He was an avowed and honest believer 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He accepted the Scriptures of 
the Old and New Testaments as the guide of his life. Their 
doctrines were the sheet anchor of his soul ; their com- 
mandments were a lamp to his feet. He could say with the 
Psalmist, "The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom 
shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life ; of whom 
shall I be afraid?" The teachings and example of Jesus 
were the rule of his conduct, and Avalking in the ways of 
truth and holiness, he went by degrees from strength to 
strength, growing in grace and in the knowledge of his God 
and Saviour ; and in the practice of Avhat he saw to be true 
and right and good, he became the man that he was, the 
ruler that he was — the saint that he is. 

But he has gone from us. While we are engaged in this 
service, the last sad tribute of respect is being paid to his 
mortal remains as they are being consigned to the tomb by 
his kinspeople and friends. "Earth to earth, dust to dust, 
ashes to ashes." But, oh, what a precious thought that 
"to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord ;" 
for says the seer, ' ' And I heard a voice from Heaven saying 
unto me, write, Blessed are the dead Avhich die in the Lord 
from henceforth ; yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest 
from their labors and their works do follow them." 

Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention, in bring- 
ing these desultory remarks to a close, how can I better 
repay the genial kindness that I have received at your 
hands since we have been assembled here, than by indulging 
and expressing the fervent wish and hope that every one of 
us may jjossess like precious faith with AVilliam McKin- 
ley, and that by the aid of Heavenly grace, we may be 
enabled to fill the several spheres of activity allotted to us 



46 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES A^^D SERVICES. 

SO wisely and well, that when the summons comes to join 
the ranks of the innumerable departed, each shall enjoy the 
confidence and regard of his fellowmen, and hear the wel- 
come plaudit, "Well done, good and faithful servant." 



ADDRESS OF DELEGATE J. H. INGRAM. 

Mr. President, Members of the Convention, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
This is a time so freighted with sorrow and sadness to the 
American people that the lips fail to express the depth of 
the nation's sympathy. Never before in the history of this 
Republic has there been greater grief at the death of any 
man. It is not confined to sections. The tears of a sorrow- 
ing public have blotted out all imaginary lines that are 
supposed to divide this people. The voice of the South 
unites in lamentations with that of the North, the East and 
the West, and the mourners throng all the streets of every 
city, town and hamlet of the American States. It is not 
confined to this country alone. The waters of the Atlantic, 
as wide and majestic as they are, the deep and broad waters 
of the Pacific, neither are impassable to this mild and gentle 
sympathy. It is universal. Crowned head and peasant shed 
alike the pitying tear. 

The same wire that carried to our government at Wash- 
ington the condolence of England's great King, of Germany's 
Emperor, and of the other monarchs and rulers of Europe, 
brought the message that the head of the holy Roman Cath- 
olic Church, the aged Pope, was bowed down witii grief at 
the death of our beloved President. It is not confined to 
sect or creed. Wlierever there is sense there is shame at the 
assassin's foul deed, and wherever there is a human heart 
there is human sorrow. The songs of all the people every- 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 4/ 

where, in every land and in every clime, are attuned to 
funeral dolours rather than to bridal carols. 

" Man's inhumanity to man 
Makes countless thousands mourn." 

The public life and public utterances of Mr. McKinley 
are a part of the nation' s history. AVith his views on great 
political c^uestions we did not always agree, but with one 
accord his personal life and character endeared him to us 
all. He was a friend of the South, and displayed towards 
our section a love and a desire to see us again occupy the 
proud position in governmental affairs which it had been the 
privilege of the South to enjoy from the earliest days of the 
Republic to the time of the Civil War. For this we of the 
South can never forget him. 

During his life as the Chief Mag^istrate of our common, 
and by his kind offices, I hope, reunited country, he 

' ' Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been 
So clear in his great offices, that his virtues 
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against 
The deep damnation of his taking-off ; 
And pity, like a naked new-born babe, 
Striding the blast, or Heaven's cherubim, horsed 
Upon the sightless couriers of the air. 
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye. 
That tears shall drown the wind." 

His administration has been in one particular the most 
marked from Washington's time to the present. Foreign 
territory has been acquired by conquest in the Orient, and 
the American armies have forced their way to the very por- 
tals of China's distant capital. The cruel hands of Spanish 
tyranny have been made to let go their hold on the throat 
of the Queen of the Antilles, and Cuba is free, certainly from 
further punishment from the avarice and cruelties of Spain. 



48 MEMORIAL ADDRKSSES AND SERVICES. 

These are some of the things that will connect his name 
and fame for all time to come with the destinies of the 
American Kepul)lic. It is not for us to discuss the wisdom 
or unwisdom of these policies. It is neither the time nor 
the place for such discussion. 

In the character of a private gentleman no man of his 
time was more admired by those who knew him than Mr. 
McKinley. All w^ho have ever seen him concur in bearing 
testimony to the charms of his manner and the courtly grace 
of his deportment. This was not the result of an artificial 
polish ; his politeness flowed naturally from a kind, true 
heart. "In his right hand he ever carried gentle peace to 
silence envious tongues." 

The language used with respect to the life and death of 
another of our Presidents, killed under very similar circum- 
stances, is peculiarly appropriate : 

"Great in life, he was surpassingly great in death. For 
no cause, in the very frenzy of wantonness and wickedness, 
by the red hand of murder, he was thrust from the full tide 
of this world's interest, from its hopes, its aspirations, its 
victories, into the visible presence of Death, and he did not 
quail. What blight and ruin met his anguished eyes whose 
lips may tell? What brilliant, broken plans ! What baliled 
high ambition ! What sundering of strong, warm, man- 
hood's friendships ! What bitter rending of sweet household 
ties ! Behind him a proud, expectant nation ; a great host 
of sustaining friends ; a cherished and happy, though frail 
and delicate, wife, the dearer to him because of her weak- 
ness. Before him desolation and great darkness, and his 
soul was not shaken. His countrymen were thrilled with 
instant profound and universal sympathy. Masterful in his 
mortal weakness, he became the center of a nation's love 
enshrined in the prayers of the world. But all the love and 
all the sympathy could not share with him his suffering. He 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 49 

trod the wine-press alone. With unfaltering front he faced 
death ; with unfailing tenderness he took leave of life. 
Above the demoniac hiss of the assassin's bullet he heard 
the voice of God. With simple resignation he bowed to the 
divine decree." 

And as his great soul took its heavenly flight it was to the 
music of his own voice, as he chanted and murmured the 
Avords of that beautiful hymn, " Nearer, my God, to Thee." 

"Let us believe that his dying eyes read a mystic mean- 
ing which only the rapt and parting soul may know. Let 
us believe that in the silence of the receding world he heard 
the great waves breaking on a farther shore, and felt already 
upon his wasted brow the breath of the eternal morning." 



ADDRESS OF DELEGATE THOMAS L. MOORE. 

Mr. President : 

We are assembled to-day in the shadow of a great na- 
tional sorrow. Bowed with grief, Columbia is kneeling by 
the bier of her beloved and distinguished dead. The hand 
of the assassin has done its work too well, and all that is 
mortal of William McKinley lies cold and stark in the 
embrace of death. 

At a moment like this, we can but reflect upon the vir- 
tues of the departed and wonder why an unknowable 
Providence has visited upon us what seems to be a great 
national calamity. 

I feel that any oral expression will but feebly portray the 
great loss we sustain and grief we feel. The silent evidences 
of these are plainly visible on every hand in this historic 
city, and in every hamlet and home in the land. They 
speak more eloquently and touchingly than pen or tongue. 



50 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

It was but yesterday he stood among us, our trusted chief- 
tain, a sturdy giant and leader of men, hokling firndy in his 
grasp the affairs of our nation, honored and k>ved by his 
people because of his goodness and greatness. 

If exemplary life and unselfish service to his fellow-man 
could have given to any one immunity from the assassin's 
hand, that man would have been Mr. McKinley. His 
whole life was an open book to the world, with never a blot 
to mar a single page. 

He was of a generation now fast passing away, yet the 
high noon of his distinguished public career shone brightly 
about us to the tragic moment of his death. He lived 
through that troublous period in which our fair land was 
deluged by the blood of many of her noblest sons, and it 
was his lot to take part in the stirring events of that time ; 
but when he sheathed his sword at the end of that memora- 
ble struggle there was no man who tried harder or did more 
to unite the contending sections of our country than did he. 
None welcomed more heartily the white-winged angel of 
peace, and no man did more to repair the ravages wrought 
by war. 

The restoration he strove for was of a two-fold character. 
He sought to repair the material losses we had sustained ; 
but most of all his life-work was devoted to a restoration of 
good feeling and good felloAvship betwixt those who wore 
the blue and those who wore the gray. It was his great 
desire that there should be no North and no South in na- 
tional sentiment, and that the spirit of animosity that at one 
time existed as the natural concomitant of contending 
factions and the din and clash of arms, should be forever 

" In the deep bosom of the ocean buried." 

On one occasion he expressed the beautiful thought that 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AXD SERVICES. 51 

■when he should be buried he hoped the last vestige of sec- 
tional animosity should have been buried before him. 

AVe are taught that an All-Wise Providence suffers all 
things to be that good may result. While this is a strange 
philosophy and hard to understand, yet there may be truth 
in it, and while we are bowed down to-day under our great 
bereavement, I believe it will have the effect of bringing all 
our people more closely together. I think it will be the 
means of causing us to here and now dedicate our lives anew 
to the perpetuation of those broad principles of republican 
government that we hope to transmit, unsullied, to posterity. 
I believe that we Avill rise from our grief to-day with a 
greater determination to defend and perpetuate our republi- 
can institutions. 

Mr. McKinley's life was a shining example to Avhich we 
may safely point the youth of the land. It was a life we 
should be proud to emulate. 

As a soldier, he responded j^romptly to the call to arms in 
defense of the flag ; and as a citizen and statesman, his fair 
escutcheon is without spot or blemish. 

When Ave come to speak of him as a faithful and devoted 
husband, we know that the ground whereon Ave tread is 
sacred. His devotion to mother, wife and home, are but to 
be mentioned to inspire all lovers at home-making with that 
tender inspiration without Avhich home Avould be but an 
empty name. 

During his whole life he Avas a faithful and devoted Chris- 
tian. His Avas a religion he carried Avith him in all the 
Avalks of life— on the field of battle, in the affairs of state ; 
and Avhen the icy fingers of death Avere upon him he found 
comfort and consolation in it, and exclaimed, "It is His 
Avill, not ours, that aa^II be done." 

Mr. President, long Avill live the name of William 
]\IcKinleA^ It is to-dav enshrined in the hearts of his 



O'l MF:."\rORIAL ADDRKSSE8 AND SERVICES. 

countrymen ; it will he inscribed on marble slab and tower- 
in*; monument, and it will adorn the fairest pages of history. 
We can hut say : 

"Farewell to thee, or to that part which dies; 
But to thy name and bright, imperishable fame, 
AVe cannot say farewell. Within our hearts there lies 
A memory of thy glorious deeds and name 
AVhicli alone with death can die." 



ADDRESS OF DELEGATE ROBERT W. BLAIR. 

Mr. President : 

We are assembled to-day in this historic hall of legisla- 
tion to give expression to our bereavement over what we 
believe to be an irreparable loss. The President is dead. 
A mantle of gloom has fallen over our happy nation, and 
to-day from the placid waters of the Pacific, to the rock- 
ribbed coast on the East, America mourns for her favored 
son and "refuses to be comforted." Eemoved by the 
cowardly hand of an assassin from a participation Avith his 
fellow countrymen in a grand industrial exposition, he 
was prostrated on a bed of agony and pain, where for days 
with superhuman determination he struggled for life until 
realizing the hopelessness of the combat he succumbed to 
the inevitable, and folding the draperies of his couch about 
him, he resigned his spirit to God and exclaimed, "Thy Avill 
be done." During the silent watches of the night the dark 
angel who had paused for a moment ere he shook the death 
dew from his wings, severed the golden cord and the soul 
took its flight through the portals of that heavenly realm 
where the weary are at rest and perfect peace is found. 

William McKinley Avas a true American. His patriotism 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AXD SERVICES. 53 

was of that character not bounded by State lines, but it com- 
prehended the interests of the entire country. With him 
there was no North, no South, no East, no West, but in 
every section he beheld a people united by ties of blood and 
drawn together by community of interest, and the main 
object of his life's work was to cement that relationship and 
to perfect that glorious union. He possessed that patriotic 
devotion which saw in his country' s flag a symbol of order 
and unity, and in his country's civil glory, his highest hope 
and inspiration. His was a nature that loved the people, 
for he was one of them. He was a man whom the people 
loved, for they knew his highest ambition was their common 
good. He loved liberty and freedom for himself and for all 
men as well, and during his administration, as Commander- 
in-Chief of the army, he was instrumental in removing the 
shackles of tyranny and despotism from thousands of earth' s 
doAvntrodden and oppressed. 

Although devoted to party organization, he never sur- 
rendered or sacrificed to partisan advantage any real or sub- 
stantive right, which belonged alike to all. He served his 
country with fidelity and honor. Xo taint ever attached to 
his name while living, and no stain can ever disfigure the 
bright escutcheon of his memory, now that he has gone. 
The statesman Avhose private life presents a stainless record, 
while the mirror of his public career reflects only the images 
of truth, virtue and patriotism, can never be forgotten. 

The loss of such a President at any time must be severely 
felt, but just at the present, when he was in the midst of 
questions of international import, the loss is more sensible 
and intense. Truly our political system is characterized by 
its susceptibility to popular caprice and providential vicissi- 
tude. To-day our ship of State may be guided by certain 
helmsmen, to-morrow she may be manned by a different 
crew. His desire was to serve out his second term and then 



54 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICP:S. 

to retire to jjrivate life, but an all-wise Providence had 
decreed otherwise. 

As, recently, I gazed with emotion on the mortal remains 
of the dead President, the lines of an anonymous author 
recurred forcibly to my mind : 

''The air is thick with death, his flying shafts strike 
down to-day the bravest in the land, nor can long withstand 
the statesman manned against him or the Avarrior mailed, 
but why should he hasten on to strike one down, just in the 
zenith of his strength and glory of renown." 

The nation has lost a President; the South has lost a 
friend. But the grim reaper is no respecter of persons. The 
lawmaker is not beyond his mandate; the low and the high 
are alike subject to his will. The mortal frame dissolves 
and commingles with mother earth; dust returns to dust. 
This, however, is the limit. Noble deeds, kind words and 
generous impulses strike responsive chords and are re-echoed 
and reproduced in other sympathetic souls. 

Would that God might create for our guidance other men 
of the same exalted type of American manhood, tribunes of 
the people, fearless and peerless examples of statesmanship 
and patriotism so worthy of our emulation. 

Columbia will keep vigil over her hallowed dead, and 
Liberty will stand guard above his tomb. 

"How sleep the brave Avho sink to rest 
By all their country's wishes bless' d! 
AVhen spring with dewy fingers cold 
Beturns to deck their hallowed mould, 
Slie there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than fancy's feet have ever trod. 
By fairy hands their knell is rung; 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung; 
There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay; 
And Freedom shall awhile repair. 
To dwell a weeping henuit there!" 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. OO 

Eome has her arch to Titus, her triumphal cohiinn to 
Trajan; the grave of Agamemnon has been found and 
marked with enduring granite; but no adamantine rock will 
be necessary to perpetuate the name of AVilliam McKinley. 
History, with an impartial hand, will inscribe it high up in 
Fame's fair temple, and a devoted people will keep green liis 
memory with love. 

To-day amid the tears of a sorrowing people lie will l)e 
laid to rest in the beautiful western city he loved so well. 
There the songs of the birds in the foliage and the murmur 
of the breezes across the rolling plain will sound his requiem 
until the archangel with one blast from his clarion trumpet 
shall summon the nations before the bar of God, where He 
will judge the quick and the dead, and the reward of Wil- 
liam McKinley will be, "Well done, thou good and faithful 
servant, enter thou into the joys of Thy Father's house." 



ADDRESS OF DELEGATE W. A. ANDERSON, 

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE. 

Mr. President: 

As never before in the lifetime of living men, the hearts 
of the American people throb in unison to-day. In the 
presence of a common calamity and a common grief, the 
strife of party and the clamor of faction are stilled, and to- 
day the people of all the States and all the Territories of 
the Republic, in bowed spirit, gather around the modest 
home in Canton, where lies, surrounded by the scenes and 
the people he loved so well, all that is mortal of him who 
is now immortal. 

The differences of party faiths, and the antagonisms of 
divergent public policies are forgotten. What is most 



56 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

vividly remembered now are the gnieious courtesy, the 
gentle consideration for others, however lowly, the worthy 
ambition to serve nobly the people of his whole country, 
and to make them one in sympathy and aspiration. And 
by us, of Virginia, and the once Confederate South, are most 
tenderly and gratefully recalled his magnanimity towards 
the survivors of the Confederate armies — the generous tribute 
of a great heart to the heroism of those who were once his 
courageous foes upon the fields of war, but later, and hence- 
forth and forever, friends and compatriots in the ways and 
works of peace, and in high endeavor to advance the welfare, 
the honor, the glory of a common country. 

Nor can we be unmindful of the gentle and devoted wife, 
the sharer of his labors, his sorrows and his joys, his honors 
and his triumphs, who now with crushed and bruised heart, 
is tasting of the very bitterness of death beside the bier of 
him who was to her all that God-created love and homage 
could make a noble man to a true and noble and loving 
woman. To her, in her unutterable grief, the sympathy of 
the manhood and the womanhood of her country goes out to- 
day in unmeasured tenderness. 

Nor can Ave ever cease to remember and admire the 
sweetness of the home life, the purity and worth of the 
private life, and most beautiful of all the chivalric devotion 
and unchanging love which adorned his married life, from 
the day of his marriage to the very last moment of his con- 
scious gaze into the countenance which to him was dearer 
than his life, when his disenthralled spirit taking its last 
farewell of earth was about, as we trust and believe, to enter 
the home provided "for just men made perfect. " . . . 

"And now up there somewhere he understands, 
And reads the meaning of our tears." 

The calaiiiitv wiiii-h has thus befallen the countrv im- 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. O/ 

parts a lesson which it Avoiiki belioove us to heed. The mad 
and wicked blow which deprived the Kepublic of its Chief 
was the expression of a spirit of lawlessness, of contempt for 
the teachings of good men, of a spirit of unbelief in the 
ideals of goodness and right, which are inculcated by 
our holy religion, of disregard for and hostility to the 
teachings of all true religion, which, unless checked in its 
baneful career, may become a power for evil which will 
bring trouble to our land. 

It is the supreme duty of our statesmen and lawmakers to 
take measures to remedy, as far as possible, conditions which 
make such hideous and morbid manifestations of lawlessness 
possible in a land whose people deserve, and should enjoy, 
the blessings of peace, and the glorious freedom of liberty 
regulated by law. 

Nor can we, Mr. President, in this trying hour forget 
him who, by this sad bereavement, has had suddenly placed 
upon him the great duties and responsibilities of the highest 
trust that could be devolved upon ^ citizen. He will enter 
upon the discharge of his high duties with the confidence 
and good-will of the American people. 

May God give him strength and wisdom to meet the 
requirements of his great office — justly, ably, nobly and 
patriotically — as the Chief Magistrate of all the people of 
all the States of this great Union of States. 

The President : The solemn exercises of this 
hour, as arranged by the committee, are now brought 
to a close, and the Rev. Doctor Dunaway will pro- 
nounce the benediction. 

The benediction was pronounced by the Rev. W. 
F. Dunaway, D. D., delegate from Lancaster. 



58 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES AND SERVICES. 

The Convention thereupon (at 1 o'clock and 40 
minutes p. m.), while the quartette choir sang "My 
Country, 'Tis of Thee," adjourned until to-morrow, 
Friday, September 20, 1901, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



On October 10 the President laid before the Con- 
vention the following communication, which was read, 
and, on motion of Mr. Brown, of Bedford, was or- 
dered to be incorporated in the memorial volume to 
be prepared by the Committee on Printing, and also 
to be printed in the Journal: 

Department of State, 

October 8, 1901. 
John Goode, Esq., Richmond, Va. : 

Sir — Among the many messages of grief, and of sympa- 
thy with Mrs. McKinley and tlie other members of the late 
President's family in their overwhelming trouble, received 
by the (iovernment and acknowledged by me on their ac- 
count, and among the multiplying expressions of profound 
respect for President McKinley' s unselfish devotion and great 
services to his country, together with a wide and increasing 
testimony to his exalted character and gracious personality, 
from every part of the United States— indeed, from all parts 
of the world — I have the honor to acknowledge Avitli senti- 
ments of sincere ai)preciation the resolutions adopted l)y the 
Constitutional Convention of Virginia on the 14t]i ultimo. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

John Hay. 



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